A NEW ROLE

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 137, 6 December 1930, Page 14

A NEW ROLE

PRINTING'S TASK

PROMOTING BUSINESS

Printing's principal role has changed from that of "art preservative of all arts" to "art promotive of all business," Ernest Elmo. Calkins, president of Calkins and Holden, of New York, declared in an address, before the for-ty-fourth annual convention of the United Typothetae of America at Boston, says the "Christian Science Monitor." Advertising has now become at least half of the entire printing industry, Mr. Calkins said. Advertising is also responsible for the fact that there is more good printing and more appreciation of good printing on the part of the general public that there has ever been, he declared. The printing industry is almost unique, he pointed out, in that the machine age has not brought mass production of printing, but with the advent of maehinisation the quality of printing has also steadily advanced. William. Pfaff, of New Orleans, was chosen president of the organisation for the coming year. Other officers selected by the nominating committee, without opposition, were: Julius S. Weyl, of Philadelphia, first vice-president; John E. Demarest, of New. Haven, Conn., second vice-president, aud Albert O. Held, of Pittsburgh, third vice-president. Mr. Pfaft' had served as chairman of the board of directors of the organisation during the past-year. Marketing and sales problems were discussed .by other speakers.. George R. Keller, retiring president of Typothetae, presided.. The entire convention took recess for the afternoon for a trip to Lexington :and Concord and other historic points of interest around Boston. Concerted action on .the part of all printers in the United States to restore to the printer the role of creative designer and artist now largely taken over by advertising agencies, was urged. "The world is using more fine printing than ever, before, but the printer is rapidly becoming just so much productive machinery," F. C. Fletcher, president of the Toledo Typothetae unit, declared in the general assembly held in the afternoon. He recommended that a committee bo appointed to go into the matter and report at a subsequent meeting of the association. Speakers at the assembly condemned as a "serious menace" to the printing industry and to business generally the proposed Bill, to raise first class postal rates as a mean to offset tho postal deficit. It was brought out that while millions of dollars are being spent annually to aid the farmer, it was hardly fair to impose an added burden on business, which is almost equally in need of aid at present. Technical problems of production were discussed at the production conference, presided over by James Eudisill, chairman of the production engineering committee. Of interest was the report of the National Board of Printing Type Faces, presented by E. M. Diamant. Legislation in the form of a suitable ■Registration Bill, protecting against piracy of typo designs, was urged in tho report, which also advocated a, conference of all type manufacturers to work out a cross licensing arrangement. A preliminary list of recommended type faces was submitted. '